The Virtues Of Aging. - Review - book reviews

Washington Monthly, Dec, 1998 by James A. Fallows

THE VIRTUES OF AGING by Jimmy Carter Ballantine, $18.95

An embarrassing presidential defeat was followed by financial reverses back in Plains. Jimmy Carter had no fixed plan for his coming years. Gradually a satisfying way of life evolved. This book tells of the spirit and philosophy that has brought Jimmy Carter to say "Now ... is the best time of all." He describes the title word, Virtue, as "The blessings that come to us as we grow older and what we have to offer that might be beneficial to others."

I have followed Jimmy Carter's career since my son worked as his chief speechwriter. I am also the same age as Carter, and as a physician I have been a part of patients' lives as they aged. "When are we old?" asks Carter. "[W]e are when we accept an attitude of dormancy, dependence on others, substantial limitation of physical and mental activity, and restrictions on the number of people with whom we interact." He encourages the stimulation and satisfaction of adult studies, Elder hostels, talking books, family history, a cleanout or change of house, a get-away-from-it-all adventure, and the Internet. His sound advice to preserve health includes proper diet, moderate exercise, and a listing of sensible health habits. In my medical practice as I followed patients for thirty to thirty-five years, body, mind, and spirit--all affected a person's retirement years.

Those who exercised within their limits were more alert and exuberant. In the same way that I phased from football and wrestling in college to tennis and horseback riding in the middle years to my present bicycling, most people can adjust their exertions to the physical changes of passing years. Aside from the health benefits of fitness, the increase of zest and alertness from exercise makes it worthwhile.

I have noticed that those who pursued absorbing goals kept a younger attitude, a more cheerful approach, and an eagerness for each day. Each of us has special talents or past experiences that in retirement can be put to the assistance of others. Jimmy Carter has not only been able to pound nails for Habitat for Humanity, as any of us would do, but has used his unique past to help American diplomacy, most notably in North Korea, where his efforts for peace proved to be indispensable.

My comparatively limited scope and talents have allowed me to apply a medical background and long experience with computers to helping on a local level. I sometimes do internet searches to explain illness and treatments to friends and former patients. More frequently I make volunteer computer house calls to help someone starting with a computer or stuck with a problem. My friend Tom Rash, totally blind, not only operates a radio broadcast station, Audio Vision for the Blind, but also uses his computer to write scripts, create letters and financial reports, and send email. And Jean Canon, who when I came to Redlands, California, was by herself the answering service for the Beaver Medical Clinic, bought a computer when she retired and learned to use it as a volunteer to coordinate the 21 educational grants of the Beaver Medical Clinic Foundation.

As a physician I have observed that older people who have been idle and kept to themselves with no day-to-day purposes or works appear not only to have aged more quickly but actually to suffer more somatic symptoms. The book gives practical steps to happy, healthy, and productive later years. I recommend it as a guide to those coming to retirement and as a stimulus to a richer way of life to those who are already retired.

JAMES A. FALLOWS is a retired physician living in Redlands, Calif.